Guarantee of allowance if there is no work under G-Ramji Act, entitlement decided in 15 days

Developed India’s Guarantee Mission for Employment and Livelihood (Rural) i.e. G-RAMJI Act has emerged as a solid assurance for the families struggling with unemployment and precarious employment in rural India.

This law is for the first time unemployment Establishes the allowance not merely as welfare assistance, but as a legal and binding right. The biggest feature of the Act is that the accountability of the government has been made clear in it—if the work is not given on time, it will be mandatory to pay the allowance.

Under the law, when an adult member of any eligible rural family demands employment under the scheme, it is the responsibility of the state government to provide him work within the stipulated time frame.

There is no ambiguity left in the G-RAMJI Act regarding this time limit. If employment is not provided within 15 days from the date of application or the day on which work is sought, the applicant automatically becomes entitled to daily unemployment allowance.

The Act also makes it clear that unemployment allowance will have to be paid by the state government only. There is no scope left in the law for postponing it, keeping it pending or making administrative excuses. This provision is being considered a big step towards making the implementation of government schemes in rural areas more accountable and transparent.

Even though the right to decide the rate of allowance has been given to the state governments, the law has almost eliminated the possibility of arbitrariness in it. The minimum limit has been clearly fixed under the G-RAMJI Act. Unemployment allowance for the first 30 days of a financial year cannot be less than one-fourth of the notified wage rate of the concerned sector.

For the period thereafter, this amount must be equal to or more than at least half the wage rate. This has ensured that the allowance becomes real economic support and not just symbolic.

The law also clarifies under what circumstances the state government’s responsibility to pay unemployment allowance will cease. If the Gram Panchayat or competent authority directs the applicant to report for work and that work is made available, allowance will not be payable for that period. Similarly, if any other adult member of the family gets employment, unemployment allowance will not be given for that time.

Furthermore, if the period for which employment was sought expires, or any adult member of the family refuses to accept the offered work, the claim to the allowance will automatically lapse.

The G-RAMJI Act also stipulates that if the adult members of the family have got employment for at least 125 days in total in a financial year, then unemployment allowance cannot be claimed after that.

Not only this, if the total payment including wages and unemployment allowance reaches an amount equal to 125 days’ wages, then there is no provision to give additional allowance after that. The objective of this limit is to ensure that the benefits of the scheme reach maximum needy families and there is balanced utilization of resources.